Giants of the past
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Giants of the past |
| Original title | Kyōryū Kaichō no Densetsu |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Publishing year | 1977 |
| length | German cinema version: 76 minutes Original version: 88 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Junji Kurata |
| music | Masao Yagi |
| occupation | |
| |
Giants of the past ( Japanese 恐 竜 ・ 怪鳥 の 伝 説 , Kyōryū Kaichō no Densetsu , English title: Legend of Dinosaurs and Monsterbirds ) is a Japanese monster or horror film from 1977. Directed by Junji Kurata. Masao Yagi is responsible for the characteristic, James Bond-like soundtrack.
action
Japan in 1977: In Aokigahara near Mount Fuji , a suicide-prone woman discovers a giant egg in a cave that houses a rhamphorhynchus . The egg shell breaks open and big, yellow eyes stare at the horrified woman ... The young geologist Takashi Ashizawa also becomes aware of this event through television . He is fascinated by it and smells profit. Without further ado, he postpones his expedition to Mexico and travels to the scene of the event.
The residents of the area, however, behave strangely. They refuse to lead Takashi to the said cave and tell him stories about mysterious events in the area. Takashi sets out on his own, but an earthquake puts him out of action. He wakes up in the hut of Sohei Muku, an old friend of his father's, who knows the area well and supports the theory that dinosaurs could still exist, and probably even in the local Sai Lake . Takashi meets his childhood sweetheart Akiko in the area. A romantic mood develops, which is however disturbed by the suddenly appearing slimy eels.
Events begin to tumble when two tourists suddenly disappear without a trace (or fall victim to the monster actually living in the lake) and a headless horse is discovered hanging in a tree. This gives Takashi the idea that it could be a long-necked Plesiosaurus . This is followed by the annual kite festival at the lake, which is interrupted by two troublemakers who have made use of the myth and swim around with a fake dinosaur dorsal fin. But then one of the troublemakers is actually eaten by the Plesiosaurus. Afterwards nobody believes his surviving friend, who reports it to the mayor. Fortunately for him, however, he was watched by the US correspondent Harold Tucker.
The Plesiosaurus is now also sighted on land. On a dive, Akiko's friend is eaten by the hungry monster on her rubber boat . Akiko herself doesn't notice anything for the time being because she is underwater. Afterwards, however, she can only recover her friend's mutilated corpse .
A press conference will be held. Meanwhile, Takashi presents his conclusion, stating that his father, Bunkichi, said the appearance of these monsters could spell an impending eruption of Fujiyama. His father always believed that dinosaurs could still be alive, and now he wants to prove that he was right with his controversial theories. A secondary character is also convinced that if a Plesiosaurus occurs, a Rhamphorhynchus is not unlikely.
Takashi then wants to see the monster with his own eyes. Meanwhile, he lets the air out of Akiko's oxygen tank. When she tries to stop him, he slaps her on the ear because he doesn't want to put her in danger under any circumstances. When Takashi is already in the water, however, Akiko learns that the authorities plan to use explosive devices in the lake to bring the monster to light. Without further ado she decides to follow him after all. Instead of taking him to safety, however, she helps him find the Plesiosaurus. They discover a small underwater cave paved with corpses. It leads to the cave that was shown at the beginning of the film and where the Rhamphorhynchus egg is located. They also find the body of Shohei Muku. The pterosaur hatches again and begins to terrorize the people on land. However, due to a mishap (someone accidentally shoots the remaining charges of explosives) everyone blows themselves up.
The two protagonists find the exit of the cave, where the hungry Plesiosaurus is already lurking for its prey. Fortunately, the Rhamphorhynchus shows up, and the two "giants of the past" have an eager battle. At the same time there is actually an eruption of Mount Fuji. The ground breaks apart, and Akiko can just hold on to a tree trunk so as not to fall into the depths. At the last second, Takashi can shake hands with her, but the outcome remains uncertain.
Premieres
- Japan April 29th 1977
- Germany 5th August 1977
German version
Both the heavily shortened German theatrical version and the Japanese original version were released on DVD by the Retrofilm label. Among other things, the versions differ in the following aspects:
- Most of the intro has been cut. Thus, a large part of the framework is lost. For example, in the German version you never get to know the main character Takashi's employer.
- Most of the cuts are limited to plot scenes; there is no question of censorship of violence. As was common with Japanese science fiction productions back then, the focus was probably more on the action scenes.
- The cuts also make the film look much more serious than in the original version, as many rather humorous scenes fell victim to the scissors and the jazzy soundtrack was replaced in many places by more threatening music or completely removed.
- The pop song at the end of the film has also been removed.
Reviews
"Naively exciting primeval world adventure from Japan - with borrowings from disaster films and some shock effects that require strong nerves."
literature
- Jörg Buttgereit : Japan - The Monster Island: Godzilla, Gamera, Frankenstein and Co. With DVD tips. (Hardcover), Martin Schmitz Verlag, February 2006, ISBN 978-3-927795-44-0 .
Web links
- Giants of the past in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Comparison of the cut versions German version - Japanese version of giants of the past at Schnittberichte.com